Government 'forces working parents into poverty'

Single parents are being driven into poverty by a government push to get them working, according to research by the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). A new report says many lone parents are misled into believing that employment will improve their finances when the reverse is often true. After rent, childcare and council tax are deducted, a single mother earning £6 an hour would end up with just £30 a week more than if they were on income support. Once additional costs are taken into account, many end up worse off.

CAB policy officer, Katie Lane, said: "For many lone parents the financial incentives of going back to work are minimal ... There's a huge issue with in-work poverty too. Then you've got people struggling financially and not able to give time to their children."

The Government plans to encourage 300,000 single parents into work.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said: "The cack-handed way the Government is pushing lone parents back into work means vulnerable children will suffer."